Sailing Newport RI | America's Cup History | 12 Meter Charters History of the America’s Cup Races The America’s Cup – the most famous sailboat race! America’s Race: Competition for the America’s Cup, the oldest and one of the most prestigious sporting trophies in the world, began in England in 1851. The newly founded New York Yacht Club was challenged by the Royal Yacht Squadron, then the most prestigious yacht club in the world, to take part in The Solent Races, sailing races that took place on the body of water between the Isle of Wight and Great Britain. Answering this challenge, the New York Yacht Club assembled a team to cross the Atlantic and race with their contender, the yacht America. The schooner America was designed and built by George Steers in 1850 at the urging of the New York Yacht Club to build a fast sailboat. Of all the races held on The Solent, the Royal Yacht Squadron decided that America was only eligible for the “All Nations Race”, a 74 mile race around the Isle of Wight starting and ending in Cowes.

The prize for the winner of this race was the 100 Guineas Cup, an award commemorating Queen Victoria’s Jubilee year. When the starting gun was fired at ten in the morning on August 22, 1851, the America was the last over the starting line. However, in the end the speedy America stunned the British fleet and crossed the finish line 19 minutes ahead of all 15 of her British competitors thus winning the 100 Guineas Cup. The schooner America brought its prize across the Atlantic, and the New York Yacht Club renamed it “The America’s Cup” after the winning boat. The America’s Cup in Newport, Rhode Island: In 1930, J boats raced in the first America’s Cup races that were held in Newport, RI. During this era the races were held at the mouth of Narragansett Bay off Breton Reef in the Atlantic Ocean. From 1930 to 1937, the America’s Cup the course was 30 miles long. In 1958, when the era of the 12 Meters began the course was shortened to just over 24 miles.

For over 50 years Newport proved to be a perfect venue for the America’s Cup because of its light and predictable winds and small volume of commercial traffic. The America’s Cup Deed of Gift: On July 8, 1857, the members of the original America race syndicate, the first team to win the America’s Cup, wrote a letter, known as The Deed of Gift, to the secretary of the New York Yacht Club. This letter was written to formalize the rules of future America’s Cup racing. Originally it stated that the America’s Cup would be held as a permanent challenge trophy that would be open to competition from any foreign yacht club. It also stated that the races would be held on the waters of the yacht club in possession of the America’s Cup and all competitors had to sail to the race destination on their own bottoms. In other words, the boats could not be disassembled and shipped to the spot where the America’s Cup races were to occur. Subsequent changes were made to the Deed of Gift changing the racing rules of the America’s Cup.

Because of the original rule that stated that all competitors had to sail to the race destination on their own bottoms, America’s Cup racing boats had to be large vessels that were capable of crossing the Atlantic Ocean. It took massive amounts of money to maintain and crew the large cutters of the 1880’s-1920’s and the J Class boats of the 1930’s. After World War II, the vast fortunes needed to finance these huge boats had largely vanished on both sides of the Atlantic. Both the British and the Americans were looking to choose an alternative to the large expensive pre-war yachts of previous America’s Cup races. In 1956 the New York Yacht Club, trustee of the America’s Cup, petitioned the Court of New York State to modify the Deed of Gift. In doing so, they cancelled the clause that obligated America’s Cup challengers to cross the ocean in the boat they intended to race. Enter the era of the 12 Metre Class, smaller, more manageable racers, in America’s Cup racing.

The 12 Meters: In 1958, after a twenty-one year halt of America’s Cup competition, racing continued with a new class of racers, 12 Meters. During this era of the America’s Cup, American syndicates continued to win the America’s Cup with the wooden 12 Meters, Columbia, Weatherly, Constellation and Intrepid twice. In 1974, aluminum 12 Meters began racing in the America’s Cup and the American team subsequently won the America’s Cup with Courageous twice and Freedom. The End of the American Streak: During the 19th and 20th centuries American yachts and sailors dominated and successfully defended the America’s Cup 24 times and created what is still today the longest winning streak in the history of organized sports.

However, on the waters off Newport, Rhode Island in 1983, the Royal Perth Yacht Club’s challenger, Australia II (12 Meter KA-6), devastated the New York Yacht Club’s defender Liberty (12 Meter US-40), skippered by Dennis Conner, by winning the America’s Cup and ending the New York Yacht Club’s 132 year winning streak. Although this defeat was devastating to the United States and the New York Yacht Club it would not be the last time that Dennis Conner would race in the America’s Cup. Four years later in 1987, the world saw the largest group of 12 Meters in the history of the America’s Cup. Over twenty-five of the multimillion dollar 12 Meter racing machines were designed and built to compete in the America’s Cup trials. Conner, then already a two time winner of the America’s Cup but more famous for being the only American sailor to ever lose the America’s Cup, staged a remarkable comeback winning the America’s Cup under the San Diego Yacht Club with his Stars & Stripes ‘87 (12 Meter US 55).

Conner demolished the Australian defender Kookaburra III (12 Meter KA-15), winning the America’s Cup finals seven race series 4-0 and, therefore, reproving his racing capabilities to the world. This marked the last America’s Cup in which the graceful twelve meter yachts would sail. The Infamous Catamaran Defense: The San Diego Yacht Club defended the America’s Cup three times after Conner’s 1987 win before losing it the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron in 1995. In 1988, one of the most famous America’s Cup competitions took place off the waters of San Diego, California. An America’s Cup that would, unfortunately, begin and end in the court room instead of on the race course. Striking back to the New Zealand challenger, the 133 foot New Zealand (KZ-1), Conner and the American team designed a catamaran, Stars & Stripes ’88 (USA-1), to defend the 1988 America’s Cup. Stars & Stripes ’88 swept the three race series but the race committee decided that a catamaran was not eligible to race in the America’s Cup.

Conner and the Americans protested and the first America’s Cup defense by the San Diego Yacht Club, was finally settled in the courtroom long after racing had ended, declaring the catamaran, Stars & Stripes ’88, the winner of the 1988 America’s Cup but subsequently tarnishing the image of the America’s Cup. America’s Cup Racing Today: In 1992, after the end of the 12 Meter era and the debacle of the 1988 America’s Cup, the Deed of Gift was again modified and the International America’s Cup Class of yachts, IACC boats, was introduced as the new America’s Cup racers. The IACC boats are longer, lighter and have about twice as much sail area than the previous America’s Cup 12 Meter racers. This is the class of boats that currently races in the America’s Cup. Today the America’s Cup remains the premier challenge of yachtsmen. The best of the best in sailing from around the world have battled to gain what has become the greatest prize in yachting.

While the America’s Cup prize, a solid silver trophy standing twenty-seven inches tall, is magnificent in its own right, there is no cash prize awarded to the winner of the America’s Cup. However, racing teams spend tens of millions of dollars to either defend or challenge for the America’s Cup and prove their technological supremacy in yacht racing. The only prize for the multi-million dollar syndicate that wins the America’s Cup is fame and, of course, the glory of bringing the America’s Cup and the next races to their country and their names engraved on the perpetual Auld Mug! In the winter of 2002-2003, in New Zealand, the 31st America’s Cup was held. After their second America’s Cup victory in 2000, New Zealand become the second country after the United States to successfully defend the America’s Cup. In unpredictable, America’s Cup sailing fashion the Swiss powerhouse, Team Alinghi, lead by New Zealander Russell Coutts upset the New Zealand favorites by sweeping the nine race series, 5-0, and winning the 2003 America’s Cup. The 32nd America’s Cup was hosted by Switzerland’s team Alinghi in Valencia, Spain.

On July 3, 2007 team Alinghi defeated Emirates Team New Zealand by one second in the thrilling seventh race of the America’s Cup series. This race sealed Team Alinghi’s, 5-2 victory over New Zealand, making them successful defenders of the 32nd America’s Cup. Just two days after their America’s Cup victory Team Alinghi, began planning the next edition of the Auld Mug. They immediately accepted a challenge from Club Náutico Español de Vela (CNEV) a Spanish challenger formed expressly for the purpose of keeping the regatta in Valencia. Larry Ellison and Team BMW/Oracle of The Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) filed its own challenge for the Cup and then filed a court case asking that CNEV be removed as Challenger of Record as being unqualified under the Deed of Gift. GGYC also asked that it be named as the rightful Challenger of Record, being the first club to file a conforming challenge. The litigation leading up to the match included which club would be the challenger, the dates and venue for the regattas, certain rules governing the regattas (in particular the measurement rules), and the construction of the boats.

There followed a long legal battle with the New York Court of Appeals finally deciding on April 2, 2009, that CNEV did not qualify as a valid challenger, and that the GGYC was thus the rightful Challenger of Record. The 33rd America’s Cup between Société Nautique de Genève defending with Team Alinghi against Golden Gate Yacht Club, began on February 6, 2010. Since the two parties were unable to agree otherwise, the match took place as a one-on-one Deed of Gift match in gigantic, specialized multi-hull racing yachts with no other clubs or teams participating. The Golden Gate Yacht Club won the match 2-0 as their yacht USA 17 powered by a rigid wing-sail proved to be significantly faster than Société Nautique de Genève’s yacht Alinghi 5. The American team, founded ten years ago by software mogul, Larry Ellison, achieved its ultimate goal when they powered across the finish line of Race 2 with a margin of 5 minutes and 26 seconds to defeat the Swiss Defender’s Alinghi 2-0.

BMW ORACLE Racing become the first American team to win the America’s Cup since 1992 when America3 defeated Il Moro de Venezia off San Diego. San Francisco’s Golden Gate Yacht Club become the 28th American defender of the America’s Cup. Russell Coutts, CEO of BMW ORACLE Racing, has now won the America’s Cup four times, twice with his native New Zealand, once at the helm of the Swiss Alinghi team and now masterminding the success of Ellison’s American team. The 34th America’s Cup between the defending ORACLE TEAM USA, representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club, and Emirates Team New Zealand, representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, began on September 7, 2013 in San Francisco, California. This America’s Cup was raced aboard AC72’s, 86 foot catamarans, with a wing sail. The finals were in a format where the first team to nine points would win. Oracle Team USA began the series by being penalized its first two victories by the International Jury.

The jury found the team guilty of cheating in the 2012 America’s Cup World Series when they placed bags of lead pellets in their 45-foot catamarans to add additional weight outside of allowed areas. The 34th America’s Cup was the longest ever Cup series by both number of days and races. It was also the first since the 25th America’s Cup in 1983 (the last America’s Cup to be held in Newport, Rhode Island) to feature a winner-take-all final race. In the 19th and final race, Oracle Team USA defended the 34rd America’s Cup by a score of 9 to 8. Oracle had to win the last eight races and come from behind to, once again, win the oldest trophy in international sport, making it the most dramatic comeback in America’s Cup history!

For all the latest information on the 33rd America’s Cup visit the official America’s Cup website – Pages: Next page Guest Comments “Everyone was very friendly, informative and let the participants decide just how much they wanted to get involved.” SPORTS PEOPLE - AMERICA'S CUP - New Zealand's Skipper - NYTimes.com SPORTS PEOPLE: AMERICA'S CUP; New Zealand's Skipper Published: December 7, 1991 ROD DAVIS, a native of Key West, Fla., who has held dual citizenship in New Zealand and the United States since moving to Auckland in 1987, has been named skipper of the New Zealand Challenge for the 1992 America's Cup. The challenge syndicate also named DAVID BARNES tactician and RUSSELL COUTS navigator. The New Zealand syndicate is headed by MICHAEL FAY, the banker, whose huge unorthodox monohull New Zealand lost the 1988 race to the even less orthodox catamran Stars & Stripes skippered by DENNIS CONNER for the San Diego Yacht Club.

(AP) Stars & Stripes - Victor Model Products Victor Model Products Sail Area 598 sq in. Here it is, the model yacht that started the VICTOR CUP SERIES. This is the semi-scale version of the yacht Stars & Stripes, skippered by Dennis Conner that returned the America's Cup to the USA in 1987. This boat is perfect for those who wish to create their own version of the America's Cup Races in miniature. The model is an excellent competitor when sailed against similar boats in its class. You can have hours of enjoyment when racing against our Australia II. © 1975 - 2017 Victor Model Products, LLC. New Zealand and the America's Cup - America's Cup | NZHistory, New Zealand history online New Zealand and the America's Cup America's Cup America's Cup race, San Fransico, 2013 New Zealand’s dramatic 8-9 loss to Oracle Team USA in the 2013 America’s Cup series in San Francisco is just the latest saga in the country’s fight for the ‘Auld Mug’.

Highlights have included the first challenge in 1986-7 , first win in 1995 and successful defence in Auckland in 2000. Less memorable have been the legal disputes, ‘defections’ and failures on the water that have characterised our participation in other years. America’s Cup memorabilia Sailing is a popular recreational pastime for many New Zealanders. American journalist and sailor Amanda Witherell has lived in both countries and thinks their sailing cultures couldn’t be further apart. Sailing ‘is not a common activity in America. The wealthy own the coastline; most people couldn’t get a foot in the door of a yacht club.’ Many see the America’s Cup as a trophy for the wealthy, with one commentator describing it as ‘a pissing contest between the world’s richest men’. It may be this desire to beat the elite that has aroused so much interest - Kiwis love to support an underdog. Kiwis on the water New Zealand sailors have forged a formidable reputation on the water, from the Olympics to ocean classics such as the One Ton Cup, various iterations of round-the-world races and the America’s Cup.

New Zealand prides itself on punching well above its weight when it comes to yachting, and New Zealand yachtsmen have been prominent members of nearly all the major teams in the past four America’s Cup cycles. Naming the cup The cup is named after the schooner America, which won a race around the Isle of Wight in 1851 against 14 of the best boats in Britain – including the cream of the elite Royal Yacht Squadron. Read more here In 2013 Oracle Team USA have a strong Kiwi influence from the top down. Russell Coutts, the chief executive and former skipper, is best remembered by New Zealanders as an Olympic gold medallist who won the cup for Team New Zealand in 1995 before turning his back on New Zealand sailing. Coutts was joined in Oracle’s extended sailing team by seven other Kiwis. At the business end of the 2013 competition Oracle had just one American in its 11-man raceday crew, which featured sailors from seven countries. By contrast nine of Team New Zealand’s starting crew were New Zealanders, and the other two were Australians with strong New Zealand connections.

The ‘Auld Mug’ Oracle Team USA’s owner Larry Ellison believes that today’s America’s Cup teams resemble motor racing’s Formula One teams in being more about ‘brand identity and pushing technological boundaries than about national identity and a patriotic agenda’. Team New Zealand sees a need to return to the cup’s origins as a ‘friendly competition between foreign countries’. ‘Plastic Fantastic’ New Zealand’s first tilt at the cup in 1986–7 was a bold statement of intent. Australia II’s victory in 1983 had brought the cup ‘Down Under’ and made it accessible to Kiwi yachties. With an abundance of sailing talent and innovative boat designers such as Bruce Farr, all New Zealand lacked was the funding needed to mount a realistic campaign. ‘Sailing away’ song Australia II’s upset victory in 1983 was due in large part to the financial muscle of businessman Alan Bond. In 1986, New Zealand found its own benefactor in merchant banker Michael Fay, who had benefited from the deregulation of the financial markets which had accompanied ‘Rogernomics’. Nevertheless the campaign was pitched as ‘David vs Goliath’, with New Zealand’s multi-millionaire taking on men with even deeper pockets.

Conner walks out In 1989, in the first Holmes show to go to air, Paul Holmes conducted a live studio interview with Dennis Conner . Holmes baited Conner into walking out of the studio by ‘offering’ the American the opportunity to apologise for comments he had made about New Zealand’s 1987 and 1988 America’s Cup skippers. The New Zealanders would compete in the challenger series to determine who would meet the Australians. The Bruce Farr-designed KZ 7 (Kiwi Magic), with its 12-m hull made of glass-reinforced plastic, was a world first. Skippered by the young and somewhat brash Chris Dickson, KZ 7 was also extremely fast. When competition began it became apparent that the Kiwi challenge was for real. Dennis Conner With each victory, cup fever mounted in New Zealand. Some of the opposition became increasingly suspicious of the fibreglass hull. Chris Dickson observed later that fibreglass was the preferred material here at the time. New Zealand had ‘never built 12m [racing] yachts … so … why would you build an aluminium yacht?

… That was old technology.’ Dennis Conner, the defeated skipper from 1983 who was now sailing for the San Diego Yacht Club’s Stars and Stripes syndicate, was especially outspoken, even after KZ 7 was twice cleared by cup officials. ‘Why would you want to build a fibreglass 12-metre unless you wanted to cheat?’ Conner became ‘Dirty Den’ to many Kiwis – the American we loved to hate. The ‘Glassgate’ saga introduced New Zealanders to the darker side of competing for the ‘Auld Mug’, with as much of the action taking place off the water as on it. For some this detracted from what was supposed to be a sporting spectacle. It appeared to confirm suspicions that the America’s Cup was all about rich men acting like spoilt brats when they didn’t get their way. For others, this controversy simply added to the intrigue and soap-opera quality of the competition. New Zealand at Fremantle (Te Ara) Despite reaching the final of the challenger series with an incredible 37–1 win–loss record, Dickson and his crew were no match for the seasoned Conner, losing 4–1 to Stars & Stripes.

Conner atoned for losing the cup in 1983 by defeating Kookaburra III to win it back. 1988: The Big Boat challenge Michael Fay’s personal crusade continued later in 1987 when he lodged a surprise challenge for the cup on behalf of Mercury Bay Boating Club. This was the first litigation over the wording of the deed of gift in the cup’s 136-year history. The New York Supreme Court ruled that the challenge was in order and forced San Diego to accept it or forfeit the cup. KZ 1 Fay turned once again to Bruce Farr. The result was the gigantic monohull New Zealand (KZ 1), the largest single-masted yacht the rules would allow. The defenders responded by building a much faster catamaran, Stars & Stripes (US 1). When the two raced each other in September 1988, New Zealand was predictably defeated by a huge margin. Fay went back to court, claiming that the race was not the ‘friendly competition between foreign countries’ embodied in the deed of gift. The court agreed and awarded New Zealand the cup. But when San Diego appealed, that decision was overturned.

Fay’s final appeal to New York’s highest court failed. Many New Zealanders felt uncomfortable about trying to win the cup in court rather than on the water. 1992: Defeat to Italy When Michael Fay came back for one last shot in 1992, the Kiwi challenge once more found itself embroiled in controversy. NZL 20 had established a 4–1 lead over Paul Cayard and the Italian syndicate, Il Moro di Venezia, in the challenger final when a protest over NZL 20’s use of a bowsprit (the pole or spar extending forward from the vessel’s prow) was upheld. Team New Zealand was docked one point and forced to remove the bowsprit. The verdict dealt a serious blow to the team’s morale and detracted from its boat’s performance. New Zealand lost the next four races, and the series. 1995: ‘The America’s Cup is now New Zealand’s Cup’ Two New Zealand syndicates competed in the 1995 challenger series in San Diego: Team New Zealand representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, and Tag Heuer Challenge representing the Tutukaka South Pacific Yacht Club.

The Tutukaka challenger, NZL 39, skippered by Chris Dickson, made it to the Louis Vuitton semi-finals despite operating on a shoestring budget. Red socks campaign For some Kiwis, 1995 conjures up memories of the red socks campaign which followed Peter Blake’s revelation that he wore his lucky red socks to help Team New Zealand win. Kiwis purchased specially branded red socks to both assist the campaign financially and show their support for Black Magic. But no vessel in San Diego that year was a match for Team New Zealand’s NZL 32 (Black Magic). The syndicate was headed by Peter Blake and skippered by 1984 Olympic gold medallist Russell Coutts. With a crew that included seasoned sailors like Brad Butterworth, Tom Schnackenberg, Murray Jones and Craig Monk, Team New Zealand had the crew and the boat to win the cup. Winning the America’s Cup (Te Ara) Black Magic’s 5–0 thrashing of the defender, Stars & Stripes. Victory was all the sweeter because ‘Mr America’s Cup’ – Dennis Conner – was at the helm of the US boat.

As NZL 32 approached the finish line in race five, television commentator Peter Montgomery declared that ‘the America’s Cup is now New Zealand’s cup!’ The American budget dwarfed that of the New Zealand team. Victory was seen as a triumph for technical ingenuity and seamanship over financial clout. The team was welcomed home with ticker-tape parades and commentators described winning the cup as achieving ‘the Everest of sailing’. Defending the Auld Mug Auckland’s Viaduct Basin became ‘America’s Cup central’ for the defence of the cup in 2000. This time an Italian syndicate, Luna Rossa, emerged from the Louis Vuitton series to challenge New Zealand. The Kiwis carried on from where they had left off in 1995. Their resounding 5–0 victory prompted Peter Montgomery to declare that the ‘America’s Cup is still New Zealand’s cup.’ Criticism of Russell Coutts (Te Ara) By the time of their second defence in 2003, Team New Zealand had had a significant change of personnel.

Peter Blake had stood down as syndicate head after the victory in 2000, only to be murdered while on an environmental voyage up the Amazon River in December 2001. Many of the afterguard from New Zealand’s previous campaigns – most notably skipper Russell Coutts and tactician Brad Butterworth – had joined the Swiss-based challenger, Alinghi. Some New Zealanders reacted badly to their decision to jump ship, questioning their loyalty as New Zealanders. Resentment deepened when Alinghi sailed away with the cup against an unreliable NZL 82. 2007 and 2010: Valencia In 2007, the rebranded Emirates Team New Zealand won the Louis Vuitton Cup with a 5–0 whitewash of the Italian boat Luna Rossa. The experienced Grant Dalton headed the syndicate, with Dean Barker as skipper. New Zealand lost the cup challenge 2–5 to Alinghi (which had Butterworth at the helm). Valencia, 2007 Following the 2007 race, the America’s Cup once more sailed into murky waters.

Larry Ellison, the owner of the Oracle team which had been heavily defeated in the Louis Vuitton semi-finals, forced the Alinghi syndicate and the Société Nautique de Genève to accept a deed-of-gift challenge (repeating Fay’s 1988 tactics). The fifth-wealthiest man in the world took on fellow billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli in the ‘ultimate pissing contest’, and won. For the 2010 race Bertarelli built a carbon-fibre catamaran with a mast 203 feet tall. Ellison topped that with a carbon-fibre trimaran with a hard wing 223 feet high – so tall that it couldn’t sail under San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. Both vessels had sails so enormous that motorised winches were needed to adjust them. BMW Oracle Racing defeated Alinghi 2–0 in the best-of-three series, then decided that the next America’s Cup competition in 2013 would be sailed in catamarans in the hope of making the sport more attractive on television.

2013: San Francisco – ‘billionaire death race’ The AC72 (America’s Cup 72 class) boats chosen for 2013 were revolutionary in design and extremely expensive. Foils lifted the hulls out of the water, enabling the vessels to reach speeds close to 50 knots (92.6 km/hr). Following several high-profile incidents, some commentators asked whether sailors’ safety had been compromised to make the event more spectacular. Respected yachting writer Adam Fisher pondered whether the new breed of boat might effectively ‘sink the America’s Cup.’ America’s Cup San Francisco, 2013 Safety fears were realised in May 2013 when the AC72 of Swedish challenger Artemis Racing ‘pitchpoled’ – flipped end over end – and broke apart. Crew member Andrew ‘Bart’ Simpson, a British Olympic gold-medallist, was killed. When Oracle Team USA’s new boat had capsized seven months earlier, the strong current had swept ‘$8 million to $10 million worth of AC 72 out the Golden Gate’.

Paul Cayard, the CEO and tactician of Artemis Racing, said that it would be a ‘miracle’ if there were no more such disasters. The harder crews pushed the catamarans, the more likely they were to tip over. Such concerns prompted the headline: ‘Billionaire death race: inside America’s Cup and the world’s most dangerous sailboat’. After Aotearoa easily won a lack-lustre challenger series, Cayard’s prediction almost came true in race eight of the contest for the cup. New Zealand fans had their hearts in their mouths as a lack of hydraulic power at a crucial moment during a turn meant that the large wingsail didn’t move in time. As the starboard hull rose out of the water, Aotearoa came within one degree of capsizing. The New Zealand challenge – seemingly on track for victory – could have ended then and there. Phlegmatic skipper Dean Barker conceded that the incident was ‘close to being as nasty as it could be’. The high-speed racing and quickfire format of the tele-friendly San Francisco series meant that Larry Ellison had certainly got his wish, with even sceptics and non-sailors conceding that many of the races were thrilling to watch.

As New Zealand swept to a commanding 8-1 lead interest at home grew. Crowds gathered around the country at a variety of public venues to watch the racing, hoping for a repeat of the glory days of 1995. These fans became increasingly nervous as the Kiwi challenge was literally becalmed. Having established a match-winning lead in race 13, Team New Zealand was denied final victory when the race was abandoned by the race committee as it had exceeded the 40-minute time limit. Some local commentators and supporters declared the rules to be a farce. Others began to wonder if this was a sign that the Kiwis just weren’t meant to win what turned into the longest-ever America’s Cup series. This proved to be the case as the defenders peeled off eight straight victories to win 9-8, the most remarkable of comebacks considering the two-point penalty imposed on them before the regatta began. The American boat seemed to get faster and faster as the racing progressed, and towards the end there was a sense that there was nothing Team New Zealand could do to match their opponents.

Shattered New Zealand fans took little comfort in the knowledge that Kiwi ingenuity and skill was at the forefront of the design and construction of both boats. The business of sailing City of sales (Te Ara) As well as being a popular recreational pastime for many New Zealanders, sailing is big business for boatbuilders and designers. The export of boats, marine technology and equipment was worth $850 million to the economy in 2008. The Labour government saw potential economic benefit for the country in winning and therefore hosting a defence of the America’s Cup, and committed $36 million to the campaign. Opposition politicians questioned the economic case for taxpayer support. Only the hulls of America’s Cup boats must be manufactured in the nation of the challenging yacht club. The major components and fit-outs of both teams’ vessels for the 2013 series were built in New Zealand. The Warkworth boatbuilding facility of Oracle Team USA employed an average of 80 people, most of them Kiwis. This America’s Cup campaign has contributed around $300 million to the local marine industry. The sophistication of the vessels meant that the 2013 syndicates required at least US$100 million to be competitive.

These costs clearly impacted on the competition. Organisers anticipated at least a 14-team battle for the Louis Vuitton challenger series; only three crews turned up. Viaduct Basin (Te Ara) Much had changed since the first New Zealand defence. Particularly damaging to the appeal of the cup were the defection of Coutts and other Team New Zealand personnel to Alinghi after 2003, and the seemingly never-ending legal arguments. Just prior to the 2013 showdown nearly two-thirds of respondents to a National Business Review poll labelled the America's Cup ‘tiresome’. Some suggested that if we won, the hosting rights for the defence should be sold to the highest offshore bidder. Oracle Team USA’s dramatic victory made this a moot point. Instead, attention turned to the format of the next America’s Cup series – and whether any New Zealand-based syndicate could afford to enter it. Further information This web feature was written by Steve Watters and produced by the NZHistory team .

Links Dennis Conner In 1988 America's Cup (Connor Lives Up To His Reputation As Big Bad Dennis) - YouTube Dennis Conner In 1988 America's Cup (Connor Lives Up To His Reputation As Big Bad Dennis) Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading... Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Aug 2, 2012 The 1988 America's Cup was the first hostile Deed of Gift challenge. Dennis Conner had won the America's Cup for the San Diego Yacht Club on 4 February 1987 at the 1987 America's Cup. In July, New Zealand banker Michael Fay went to the San Diego Yacht Club and issued a Notice of Challenge from the Mercury Bay Boating Club of New Zealand, which was based on a strict reading of the Deed of Gift.

The Fay challenge stipulated that the boats to be sailed would be defined only by the details of the Deed, namely single masted yachts no more than 90 feet (27 m) at the waterline and that the race would be held the following year in 1988. He proposed to bring a 90 foot racing yacht for his challenge boat. The San Diego Yacht Club, who wanted to continue running the Cup regatta in 12-metre yachts, initially rejected Fay's challenge out of hand. Fay then took the dispute to the New York State Supreme Court, which on 25 November 1987 declared the challenge valid and instructed the San Diego Yacht Club to meet the challenge on the water, brushing aside the twenty-one 12 Meter syndicates that had declared their intention of racing in a 1991 America's Cup regatta. The unconventional challenge was met with an unconventional response. As the challenge used the original Deed of Gift as its basis, there were no explicit class or design requirements other than that the boat was to be 90 feet (27 m) or less at the waterline if it had one mast.

Thus the San Diego Yacht Club and the Sail America Foundation chose the assuredly faster multi-hull design Category Chevalier Taglang: AMERICA'S CUP 1988 - STARS & STRIPES CATAMARAN - FIRST AMERICA'S CUP WINGSAIL - WINGSAIL - USA-1 CATAMARAN AMERICA'S CUP 1988 - STARS & STRIPES CATAMARAN - FIRST AMERICA'S CUP WINGSAIL - WINGSAIL - USA-1 CATAMARAN A fault confessed is half redressed… By ten days we have missed to commemorate the 24th anniversary of Stars & Stripes US-1 Catamaran! By Jacques Taglang and François Chevalier Dennis Conner's 1988 catamaran Stars & Stripes US-1: Launched on May 24th 1988, christened on June 4th 1988 in San Diego... 24 years ago ! ©François Chevalier 1988 STARS & STRIPES US-1 CATAMARAN “The boats to be very big, very radical, and very controversial.

The contest will not be a sailboat race. It will be a design lottery in which the sailors will have little or nothing to do with the outcome. In one word, the 1988 America’s Cup challenge will be bizarre.” That was the assessment of Dennis Conner as published in an interview for the Australian review The Bulletin on December 15th, 1987. The facts would prove Conner right and the unsurprising victory of his small 18.30-metre LOA catamaran, Stars & Stripes, against the huge 27.43-metre LOA monohull New Zealand would remain forever the most incongruous America’s Cup. The long silence of the San Diego Yacht Club following Dennis Conner's victory with the 12-metre Stars & Stripes on February 4th, 1987 in Fremantle is often cited as the reason behind the 1988 America’s Cup. Taking literally the words of the Deed of Gift, the New Zealand banker Michael Fay, impatient with American foot-dragging, sent a challenge contrary to all expectations on July 15th, 1987.

His challenger would be a 90-foot monohull, pushing aside the 12-metre class that had been used in each Cup since 1958. Taken aback, the Americans rejected the challenge but Fay asked to the Supreme Court of the State of New York County to intervene. On November 25th, Justice Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick confirmed the validity of the challenge. ©-- With just 10 months to prepare, the Defender decided upon a radical option. John Marshall, the chief of the Sail America Foundation design team, announced on January 22nd, 1988 that the defender would be a catamaran. The Americans had only eight months left to conceive, build and test a defender capable of repelling the assault of Fay's ‘Big Boat’. The American decision was simple on one level, yet at the same time was complex. It was obvious that the multihull choice was likely to be interpreted as a provocation and would generate a new legal conflict. But from a sailing point of view it was simple – the Americans didn’t have the time to catch up in conceiving and constructing a big monohull.

Instead, it was easier to opt for a catamaran, which was sure to be faster, more elusive, and with a LOA limited to 60 feet (18.29 metres) it would be able to be built quickly. ©Dan Nerney 1988 On April 15th, 1988 (the immense monohull New Zealand had been sailing in the waters off Auckland since March 27th) John Marshall confirmed that two catamarans were in the process of being built. The first one would be fitted with a soft rig, the second with a hard rig. Conceived in record time, Stars and Stripes, the Defender catamaran was a successful marriage merging cutting-edge naval architecture with aeronautics. For this, Marshall co-ordinated a team comprising exceptional people like Gino Morrelli, who since his youth was fascinated by multihulls. He very quickly became one of the best American specialists and accepted without hesitation the challenge of the America’s Cup. With Bruce Nelson, Britton Chance and Bernard Nivelt, he drew up the catamaran.

As expected, two 60-foot boats were built, one of them soft-rigged, following Morrelli’s design. The other one was hard-rigged with a winged-mast, a specialty of Dave Hubbard and Duncan MacLane (who had previously worked out this mode of propulsion on 25 feet-catamarans - 7.72 metre) belonging to the C-Class, as the famous Patient Lady. To scale up the concept of a mast-wing with articulated flaps from a 25-foot catamaran to a 60-foot machine, Marshall appealed to Burt Rutan's talents, the designer of Voyager, an ultra-light airplane that would make a round the world flight without stopping in 1988. In ten weeks, Rutan, Hubbard and MacLane, supported by a team of 40 people, succeeded in extrapolating the concept. It was an achievement “more difficult than with the airplane wing” Rutan would say later, because of the absolute constraint to save weight. ©Marshall Harrington On May 24th, the first boat was launched and in June, Dennis Conner sailed with the hard-rigged cat.

The team discovered that in light wind, the traditional soft rigging of the sister ship was more effective. But in more steady, stronger winds, the hard-rigged cat was faster but the risk of material failure was bigger. So Rutan and his team built up a new winged mast and delivered it at the beginning of August. This second structure was 40% bigger and far more solid than the first one. The mast measured 32.61 metres, 5.80 metres more than the first one, and thus the performance was there: the catamaran fitted with the hard rig was preferred to the classic soft-rigged boat. ©Marshall Harrington Meanwhile, on May 5th, 1988, as expected, Michael Fay again asked for justice. He argued that the San Diego YC should defend the America’s Cup in September 1988 but with a 90-foot monohull.

He noted the Deed of Gift required a match between “like and similar boats.” On July 25th, 1988 Justice Ciparick declared Fay’s argument premature and concluded: “The time has come for the sailors to be permitted to participate in the America’s Cup. The parties are directed to proceed with the races and to reserve their protests, if any, until after the completion of the America’s Cup races.” ©Daniel Forster/Duomo The "bizarre" 1988 Challenge eventually was sailed on September 7th and 9th off San Diego. It would be useless to hold forth on the ‘mismatch’ on the water. The Stripes & Stripes crew won easily. One matter was certain, this dramatic turn of events put an end to the 12-metre era and opened the way for the present International America’s Cup Class boats. The courts would rule again on the 1988 match, firstly on March 28th, 1989 to award the Cup to the New Zealanders and then on appeal to confirm the Stars & Stripes victory.

Some months after the race, a Mexican yachtsman, Victor Tapia, acquired the catamaran. Excited by the prospect of watching the 1992 America’s Cup races, Tapia sailed the cat to San Diego. Ten years later, Stars & Stripes was sailing on Valle de Bravo Lake, near Mexico City. The last report we had of it, Stars & Stripes was for sale in Mexico. ©-- The fate of its sister ship with the conventional soft rig, Stars and Stripes (S1 version) was more spectacular than the 1988 Defender (H3 version). Steve Fossett, the man with dozens of speed records, acquired it in the 1990s. ©Sail America Foundation Fossett demonstrated that Stars and Stripes still remained among the fastest multihulls of its generation. To this day, it holds, among others, the record for the Mackinac race, sailed on Lake Michigan between Chicago and Mackinac.

On the occasion of the 100th Mackinac Race raced on July 18th and 19th, 1998, Stars and Stripes sailed the distance in 18 hours, 50 minutes, and 32 seconds. Since the year 2000, this Stars & Stripes is owned by a yachtsman from Naples, Florida, Mark Reece. STARS & STRIPES US-1 AmericaOne - AC History 1980-1988 1980 || 1983 || 1987 || 1988 1980 - Freedom Fends Off Australia, 4-1 This match marked Dennis Conners first Cup victory as a skipper, his sailboat Freedom defeating Alan Bonds reworked Australia four races to one. It also set the stage for the showdown three years later. Serving as tactician to Australian skipper Sir James Hardy was John Bertrand, who became Conners nemisis in three years time.

The challenger trials included Frenchman Baron Bichs fourth and final challenge with France |I, skippered by Bruno Troublé, the first skipper to fall overboard during an Americas Cup race. Also entering the fray were Lawrie Smiths Lionheart from Great Britain, and Sverige from Sweden. 1983 - The Cup Goes Down Under: Australia | Defeats Liberty, 4-3 It was only fitting that when the NYYC finally lost the Cup, it was the most closely fought match in the events history, and it went down to the final race. Alan Bonds years of effort finally paid off, and he took the Victorian-era trophy, claimed by the upstart Americans 132 years earlier, to a new home at Royal Perth Yacht Club in Perth, Western Australia. Dennis Conner and Liberty won the first two races, John Bertrand and Australia | the third. The Americans recovered in the fourth, but knew they were in trouble in light air. The two-race American lead faded to a 3-3 tie by the end of the sixth race.

And by the end of the seventh race, the Cup was in Australian hands, the boys from Down Under finishing 41 seconds ahead of Liberty and terminating the longest winning streak in the history of sport. Even without the Australian victory, the event was remarkable in that it was one of the most controversial matches in an event noted for controversy. The Australian boats revolutionary winged keel, designed by Ben Lexcen (formerly Bob Miller) and secretly tested in a Dutch towing tank, sparked a loud protest from the other competitors. But the NYYC rules committee ruled in favor of the Australians and the now-famous sailboat dominated the challenger trials to win the Louis Vuitton Cup on its way to unseating the New York Yacht Club. The defender trials were dominated by Liberty, but a new face had appeared on the Americas Cup scene, the face of man who, like Conner, would be regarded as one of the best skippers in the world. Paul Cayard of San Francisco was a sail trimmer aboard Tom Blackallers Defender, which finished third in the defender selection series.

Photos: Copyright Mystic Seaport Museum, from the book "America's Cup '95: The Official Record," published by Tehabi Books. 1986-87 - The Cup Comes Back: Conner Routs the Aussies, 4-0 Dennis Conner turned what had been a summer sport into a full-time occupation. It paid off. Mounting a campaign that lasted more than three years, his curiously shaped Stars & Stripes emerged the victor in a hotly contested challenger elimination series and went on to rout the Australian defender, Kookaburra |I, 4-0. Conner was now not only the first man to lose the Cup, he was the first to win it back as well. The Americas Cup was returning to America, but to a newand controversialhome at San Diego Yacht Club. In terms of the number of contestants, this still stands as the biggest Americas Cup regatta yet. There were four defense syndicates, and the challenger series for the Louis Vuitton Cup featured 13 sailboats representing a record six nations, including the U.S., New Zealand, Great Britain, Canada, France and Italy.

In addition to Conners Stars & Stripes, the challenger fleet included the innovative USA representing St. Francis Yacht Club. The San Francisco-based sailboat was skippered by the renowned Tom Blackaller, and had rising star Paul Cayard as tactician and alternate helmsman. The sailboat sported an unusual canard, or second rudder, forward of the keel. The design was to improve the sailboats performance upwind, but it also made the boat difficult to control. By the time Blackaller and Cayard got the sailboat sailing close to its potential, time had run out on their innovative effort. The Australian defense marked the entry of New Zealand and merchant banker Michael Fay on the Americas Cup scene. Fays KZ7, also known as ""Kiwi Magic," dominated the early rounds of the challenger trials. But the brash young skipper, Chris Dickson, was given a sailing lesson by the veteran Conner in the challenger finals. That was not before Conner had accused the Kiwis of cheating, however, in that they built their sailboat, dubbed the ""plastic fantastic" of fiberglass rather than aluminum.

The brash Fay was critical of Conner and San Diego YC officials at the time and remained so, upsetting their Americas Cup cart just a few months later. Photo: Copyright Mystic Seaport Museum, from the book "America's Cup '95: The Official Record," published by Tehabi Books. 1988 - Catamaran Wins, But the Cup Loses The 27th defense is the most contentious chapter in an event chronicled in controversy, and considered by many to be the low point in the history of the Americas Cup. Taking advantage of SDYCs indeciveness and delays over the venue and dates for the defense, New Zealander Michael Fay issued a renegade challenge on July 17, 1987, specifying a sailboat double the size of a 12-meter, and demanding the race be held within the 10 months specified in the Deed of Gift. When SDYC officials declared the challenge invalid, Fay took them to court and won the first round. The match between Fays Mercury Bay Boating Clubwhich had an aging Ford Zephyr as a clubhouseand SDYC was set for September, 1988.

The SDYC responded by building a 60-foot wing-sailed catamaran as the defender against Fays 133-foot ""Big Boat." It was a laugher on the water, as Conners Stars & Stripes easily defeated New Zealand, 2-0. But things were deadly serious on shore, as the lawyers picked up where the sailors left off. Ranting ""Read the Deed," Fay returned to the New York Supreme Court, trustee of the Americas Cup Deed of Gift, where he asked that SDYCs victory be overturned. Judge Carmen Ciparick granted his request. Not giving up without a fight, SDYC appealed the ruling to the New York Court of Appeals, and on April 26, 1990, SDYC was finally declared the winner of the match held more than a year and half earlier. Photos: Copyright Mystic Seaport Museum, from the book "America's Cup '95: The Official Record," published by Tehabi Books.

PHOTOS: Team New Zealand's America's Cup love affair | Newshub PHOTOS: Team New Zealand's America's Cup love affair 20/08/2013 1987 Freemantle NZ Challenge (KZ-7 Kiwi Magic) Michael Fay heads New Zealand's first foray into the America's Cup, with a team skippered by Chris Dickson. The kiwis build the first fibreglass Cup boat, and the boat dubbed "plastic Fantastic" doesn't go down well with Dennis Conner. "Since 1978, 12-metres have been built all in aluminium, so if you want to build a glass boat, why would you do it, unless you wanted to cheat?" he asked. NZ tops the Louis Vuitton Cup round robin before eventually being beaten 4-1 by Conner's Stars & Stripes in the challenger final. 1988 San Diego New Zealand Challenge (KZ-1 The Big Boat) Fay launches a controversial Deed of Gift challenge against the Americans, resulting in a drawn out court case.

Fay builds a monster 90-foot boat to race Conner, who instead goes for a smaller, lighter wing sail catamaran. As Conner predicted, ("One of us is racing a cat, and the other is racing a dog") the match is one-sided with Stars & Stripes taking the series 2-0. The final press conference from one of the Cup's darkest periods ends with a microphone catching Conner telling NZ designer Bruce Farr: "You need to get the chip off your shoulder, you're full of shit, you're a loser, get lost, get off the stage." 1992 San Diego New Zealand Challenge (NZL-20 The Red Sled) Fay's final involvement in the Cup again courts controversy, this time thanks to a bowsprit. The twin keeled NZ boat sets the pace through the challenger series, and is one race away from reaching the Cup match before Italian syndicate Il Moro di Venezia protests the Kiwis use of the bowsprit. The Jury sides with the Italians, taking a point from NZ. The protest proves too much of a distraction for the Kiwis as Il Moro sail on to take the series 5-3.

1995 San Deigo Team New Zealand (NZL-32-NZL-38 Black Magic) A new team emerges to challenge for the Cup, lead by Peter Blake and skippered by Russell Coutts. The black boat dominates an eventful Louis Vuitton regatta (see: oneAustralia sinks) posting an impressive record of 41 wins and two losses on the water. Superstitious types point out that one of those losses came on the one day Blake and his famous lucky red socks weren't on the boat. The Kiwis beat oneAustralia to reach the Cup for the first time, where they meet old adversary Conner. The American should have been eliminated in the defender trials but snuck in with some backroom dealings, and even managed to switch boats for the Cup match. Despite the change, NZL-32 is never challenged, leading around every mark to sweep the series 5-0 and bring the Cup to Auckland. 2000 Auckland Team New Zealand (NZL-60) The Kiwis become the first team to successfully defend the Cup outside of the United States with another dominant performance.

Team NZ sweep aside Cup newcomers Luna Rossa 5-0 in the Cup match, with Coutts handing over the helm to a young Dean Barker for the final race. 2003 Auckland Team New Zealand (NZL-82) Following the successful defence, Team NZ is thrown into turmoil. The core of the crew, lead by Coutts and Brad Butterworth, depart and join new challenger Alinghi which is headed by Swiss billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli. Schnackenberg leads the kiwi campaign with Barker skippering the new look sailing team. Unfortunately, the defence is let down by boat design. NZL-82 is nearly swamped in the opening race before the end of the boom snaps off forcing retirement, then in Race 4 the mast of the NZ boat snaps. The Swiss boat easily takes the series 5-0, taking the Cup back to Europe for the first time since 1851. 2007 Valencia Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL-92) Grant Dalton takes over the leadership of the team and despite three losses in the opening round robin of the challenger series, the Kiwis emerge as the leading contender in Valencia.

Team NZ beats Luna Rossa 5-0 to win the Louis Vuitton Cup for the second time and set-up a rematch with Alinghi. Thanks to the kiwis, the challenger notches it's first race win since 1992 in what starts as an even series. With the score at 2-2, a rip in a gennaker turns to chaos for ETNZ, resulting in two ripped sails and another Swiss victory. The decisive race of the series is the closest ever in Cup history when Alinghi skipper Brad Butterworth manages to inflict a penalty on the Kiwis, but a huge wind shift on the final leg puts ETNZ back in front. Barker completes the penalty turn on the line but couldn't cross before the Swiss slipped past for a one-second win and a 5-2 series victory to retain the Cup. 2013 Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL-5) After defeating Alinghi in a Deed of Gift match, new defenders Oracle give the Cup a major makeover and introduce the new winged multihull AC72. The Kiwis are the first to launch their catamaran and crack the design to foil before any of the other teams.

Easily the quickest of the challengers, Team NZ look on track for a return to the Cup match. 3 News

Question: Who skippered Stars & Stripes in the America's Cup in 1987 and 1988?
Answer: Dennis Conner